This is my story and my experiences as a farm-again farmer in rural Iowa.

Iowa State University is doing an oat trial on a few acres. It’s a beautiful green carpet right now. And it’s surrounded by just emerging corn or grass waterway. Hopefully we get some good data out of it. It is a long-term study and a first at this location.

We started our 2016 planting of corn today and after getting out all the kinks between the machines and I, we are gliding along smoothly. We haven’t had a spring rain for weeks and we are planting about 10-12 days earlier than we “usually” do. According to my records, the average date is April 27. […]

If you’re driving down a field to test how a disc is pulverizing clods while you have a pallet fork hooked on the front of the tractor and then drive over a furrow made by a plow, make sure the pallet fork is either attached properly or leave it at home. A picture would tell […]

There has always been a turning back point in my organic transition years where I could just leave it in hay for another year. The hay keeps the weeds down and the work comes during the summer as to not interrupt planting or harvesting of the conventional crops. Hay is a weed suppressor and a […]

We live in my grandparents home. The home and farmstead that they rented when they were a young couple first starting out as farmers. When my grandfather died in 2000, my grandmother wanted a housecat to fill the void. She brought in a barn cat and named her Amber for her orange/red coloring. But Amber […]

Our pig barn before… And 30 minutes later… Thanks to the wonderful use of a skid loader and a seasoned operator. We usually do this job by hand and it would take us hours if not 2 days. Notice the line down the middle of the “full bedded” barn? They decided that half of the […]

Today felt like the first day of spring in Northern Iowa. Our snow drifts melted away today as the temperatures rose to 60 degrees F. It was a perfect day to shear sheep. It usually takes us most of the morning. It’s a great exercise, because we get to look over the ewes before they […]

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About me

Farming is cool, way cool. At least that is what I decided it would be when I made the decision to move back to a small family farm in rural Iowa from my home in Los Angeles, California.

I realized that I want to grow and eat my own food, raise animals in a humane and natural way and be a steward of the land to help provide food, fuel and fiber to the world. I want to be a part of the movers, shakers and innovators that are bringing a positive change to rural America.

I hope that this blog will provide a glimpse into the world of a simple mid-west farm. Sharing my farming experiences, so you can join the journey and witness the changes that will happen over the course of this blog. That is my goal.